Di Wu Ya looked into the little girl’s eyes, a strange light flickering across his gaze.

After she moved away from him, his hand rested somewhat unnaturally on the spot she had just been holding.

“Go on back. This one will return soon.”

“Understood.” Feng Jiu’er blinked up at him. “Be careful with whatever you’re doing! Don’t come back too late.”

All she could do was this much — since Ninth Imperial Uncle had asked her to stay behind, he would surely return today.

He wanted her to rest well and not stir up trouble, so she resolved to simply have a good night’s rest before doing anything else.

Everyone parted ways, and Feng Jiu’er followed the others into another patch of forest.

Inside the woods, several military tents had been set up, without a single light showing — one would never notice them without coming close.

Feng Jiu’er stepped into a large tent, and inside, the man’s familiar scent still lingered.

Her subordinates brought in bathwater; she washed herself thoroughly, then lay down on the bed and drifted off to sleep.

Inside the tent, a single small candle burned, its light too faint to be seen from outside.

She wasn’t entirely sure what exactly was happening outside right now, or what Ninth Imperial Uncle and Third Brother were planning.

They didn’t need her for the moment, so all she had to do was devote herself wholeheartedly to this one task.

The night grew darker and darker.

At some point, Feng Jiu’er sensed the warmth on the bed rising; she turned onto her side and wrapped her arms around the firm, warm arm beside her.

Di Wu Ya looked at the small face pressing against him and slowly closed his eyes.

Suddenly, there was a slight movement beside him.

Before he could open his eyes, his thin lips were met by a warm, soft, moist pair of lips.

By the time Di Wu Ya opened his eyes, the little girl beside him had already tightened her hold on his arm again, her small face pressed to his shoulder, eyes gently closed, breathing even.

As if what had just happened had nothing to do with her at all.

The man frowned slightly, watched her quietly for a moment, then murmured, “Little one.”

His voice was like something out of a dream, hoarse yet strikingly pleasant to hear.

Feng Jiu’er kept her eyes closed without moving, the corner of her mouth curling up slightly, her breathing perfectly even — the very picture of a sleepy little cat.

Di Wu Ya suppressed the urge to roll over and pin her beneath him, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

His eyelids fluttered slightly, but in the end he did nothing.

Before long, the man’s breathing evened out as well.

Under the faint candlelight lay two extraordinarily handsome faces.

At that moment, even the corner of the man’s mouth curled up slightly, as though his dream was a pleasant one.

All around was quiet — perhaps even the small creatures of the forest were reluctant to disturb this pair, so perfectly matched by heaven itself…

When Feng Jiu’er woke, the sky had only just begun to show the faintest hint of light.

The space beside her was already empty, but she could still feel the warmth the man had left behind.

Feng Jiu’er hugged the blanket, rolled halfway toward the other side, and buried her face where Di Wu Ya had slept.

She breathed in several lungfuls of the air still carrying his scent before finally turning over and getting out of bed.

The battle would soon begin; everyone was busy beyond measure, and their own tasks needed to move faster too.

Feng Jiu’er got dressed, lifted the tent flap, and stepped outside…

Outside Mao Linye’s residence, one woman and two men sat by the roadside not far off.

The woman’s face was rather pale, and the man’s complexion wasn’t much better — his skin, naturally somewhat dark, showed circles under his eyes darker still than his skin.

All three looked exhausted, their clothes somewhat sticky and unkempt, as though they’d spent the whole night keeping watch outside.

Seeing that the sky had fully brightened, the woman rose to her feet.

Perhaps from sitting too long, the moment she stood her body swayed violently, and she nearly toppled to one side.

“Little sister.” A man strode over and caught hold of her arm.

“Why put yourself through this, staying here? Who’s to say he hasn’t already forgotten all about you!”

“Come on, let’s go home! Isn’t it better to just live a normal life? What are you doing out here?”

“Elder Brother, I’m not going back. I want to go see the boss — I just want to see him,” Feng Jiu’er said, her voice somewhat hoarse.

“Elder Brother, let go of me!” She shoved hard against Qiaomu’s arm.

“Hmph!” Gong Xinyue snorted coldly. “If you want to stay, then stay by yourself. I’m going back to eat!”

“Second Brother.” Feng Jiu’er called out softly and went over to take hold of her arm. “Could you go ask for me — see if the boss will agree to see me?”

“Elder Brother, Second Brother, the boss really has been good to me, and besides, you two already accepted a thousand taels of silver from him.”

“Things in town are so chaotic right now — the drug factory exploded last night, and the boss came back so late. Who knows if he’s hurt or not.”

“Elder Brother, Second Brother, if you two want to leave, fine, but could you go ask for me? I was the one the boss bought — I should be attending to him at a time like this.”

The guards nearby had overheard the whole exchange.

Not only that, it seemed the men who’d come out to switch shifts in the second half of the night had already noticed the three of them there.

Their spot had been rather dark, but the guards could still clearly make out that there were three of them — two tall, one short, two men and one woman.

Last night there had indeed been three people in that spot — two tall, one short — matching the build of Feng Jiu’er, Qiaomu, and Gong Xinyue.

What they didn’t know was that by the time day broke, the three people there had already been swapped out for others.

Inside the Mao residence, two soldiers with long swords slung across their backs pushed open the main gate.

The three at the roadside fell silent at the sound.

Suddenly, the woman — thin and frail enough to look as if a strong wind might blow her over — summoned her courage and walked toward them.

It happened to be shift-change time, and the two who had just come out were the replacements.

“Sirs.” Feng Jiu’er walked over hurriedly, her cheeks flushed.

She went straight up to one of the soldiers and, catching her breath, asked, “Sirs, how has the boss been these past two days? Can you help me — I want to go in and see him. Is he hurt?”

“You people, can you help me? I want to go in and see him — is he injured? The drug factory had a huge explosion last night, didn’t it?”

“Last night I heard a lot of people talking, and someone said the boss was hurt — is that true?”

“Who are you?” the soldier cut her off.

The other soldier leaned his head toward the one who’d spoken and murmured something.

The soldier who’d spoken frowned, then finally waved a hand. “Go on in and ask, then.”

“Good.” The soldier nodded and turned to walk back inside.

Feng Jiu’er watched him go, standing on tiptoe to peer inside, not daring to say anything more.

Soon, the soldier who’d gone in came back out.

“Well?” Feng Jiu’er looked as though she couldn’t wait another second. “Is the boss willing to see me?”

“Go on in,” the soldier said, waving her forward. “It’s not the boss — Steward Xiao agreed to it.”

“Thank you! Thank you!” Feng Jiu’er bowed at the waist and stood up, heading inside.

Qiaomu and Gong Xinyue moved to follow but were stopped.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Gong Xinyue gripped her sword, frowning at the person blocking her path.

Feng Jiu’er stopped and turned back. “They’re my brothers — also from Pengyue Inn.”

“Let them in too,” said the soldier who had just gone in and come back out, shaking his head.

The soldier frowned but withdrew the sword he’d raised in front of him.

Feng Jiu’er, Qiaomu, and Gong Xinyue finally managed to step through the residence’s main gate.